A war in Syria use crypto to power an Anarchist State

Almost 4 million people in Northern Syria is looking for cryptocurrency as a medium to overcome from the economic sanction. The Rojava which is also known as the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria has spent almost six years in the war for its territory. But the country is under economic sanctions from all sides such as Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq, which is now in fragile peacetime.

But in the midst of the uncertainty, those backing the state put a new emphasis on the monetary independence. The primary currency of Syria is Syrian Iira and the main currency of the Syrian state (and a principal enemy of Rojava) and there is a belief that cryptocurrency could be the ‘alternative’ according to the leader of the project’s technological development program, Arsalan Serdem.

The Serdem said that Rojava plans to implement new technological academies, alongside with a system of the self-governing communes with a particular emphasis on the cryptocurrency and cryptography. An early bitcoin developer, Amir Taaki who also fought in the Rojava revolution will assist the change in the revolution.

According to the details offered by the CoinDesk, the Taaki is in the process of setting up a European based technology academy in the Barcelona. Taaki also told CoinDesk that, “Rojava is a revolutionary project that wants to build a new society based on anarchist principles, and that means law, defense, society and also culture.”

Instead of this, the new academies follow the philosophy of Kurdish political theorist Abdullah Ocalan promoting a form of governance. The Serdem also said that blockchain and cryptocurrency are crucial for achieving this vision. He also believes that experience of Rojava in war has given it the ability of both organizes effectively and also to set the positive example for all over the world. Serdem continues this thing said that “We have to think deeply about the future of the new system, and how the people can arrange and manage resources democratically any form of centralization.” He also continues this by adding that, ‘We call our system a decentralized system of society.’

New infrastructure

The push toward the cryptocurrency is also notable because at the time of writing the economy of the Rojava is purely based on the paper currencies, it is said by the Taaki who spent almost two years in the country during the wartime. The locals depend on a large amount of cash to secure the traders which are combined with the high inflation.

Taaki reports that a large infrastructure has also developed around the processing of paper currencies in which the center throughout the country dedicated solely to accounting. In the neighboring countries, the economic sanctions are such in order to send money outside the region and the payment in these countries are also subject to high fees.

At later, Taaki said that “The cost of making the transaction with Istanbul is currently 10 percent,” and after that, he continues that, “We believe that with cryptocurrency we can make this 2 percent globally, not just with Istanbul.”